WASHINGTON — The 2024 WNBA Draft has helped predict the momentum of the upcoming WNBA season. Now the league is seeing more interest in fans trying to buy tickets and see games.
Basketball stars Caitlin Clark, Kamilla Cardoso, Angel Reese and Rickea Jackson hope to carry over the fans of college women’s basketball over to the WNBA after being drafted.
“The WNBA has been on the rise for the last three years but certainly we like we’re at this crescendo moment right now," Washington Mystics Chief Business Officer, Alycen McAuley said.
McAuley said the sport's popularity is reflected in this seasons ticket prices. She said they're been a biggest interest in all of the Mystic's season games this year. On Ticketmaster and even SeatGeek tickets are on sale for over $280.
“It has been increasing over time as more and more people are interested," McAuley said. "Here in D.C. the demand is greater than the number of seats we have and that’s really driven some of that.”
There's been a rise in interest in the women for the last three years but right now things are at an all time high.
Monday night’s 2024 WNBA Draft made history as the most viewed ever — with over 2 million viewers. The former record holder was the 2004 draft, which this year beat by 304%. Viewership peaked at just over 3 million with 1 million of them being women.
“It’s a great time to be in women’s sports, it’s a great time to be in women’s basketball," McAuley said.
None of this is a surprise after seeing the records broken by women's college basketball this year. For the first time ever, the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship topped the men's final with 18.9 million viewers.
“It’s crazy to think of how impactful they were in just this season overall and it’s exciting to see what’s next," Sidwell Friends basketball standout, Kendall Dudley said.
It's an exciting time for fans but also the women who are playing the sports and hoping to join the league some day too.
“For me I am like excited just ready to be there and kind of become new role models and become new faces for the game," Dudley said .
Dudley said the best part for her is seeing how much more popular the women’s game has become.
“It’s just inspiring to just see the growth," Dudley said. "I think it’s good for the game.”
It’s an exciting time for the Sidwell Friends High School standout and McDonald's All American, Kendall Dudley as she heads west to play basketball for UCLA next season. She said she's inspired by watching and enjoys seeing her role models break new barriers.
She said she hopes this leads to more success for women playing the sport so that they don't have to play ball overseas too.
She isn't the only one thankful for this 2024 WNBA draft class.
“We owe a debut of gratitude to Caitlin Clark and the other first round picks including Aaliyah Edwards," McAuley said. “They just really showcase that exceptional talent, some intense rivalries, some games and consequence that fans get into and now I just think they’re just really excited to see those stories continue in the WNBA.”
As women continue to break barriers, Dudley is hoping she can assist the league's momentum for years to come.
“I’m ready to do whatever I can to help bring the girls, women’s basketball bring it further and globalize it and be more popular as it should be," Dudley said.
WUSA9 also asked the team if they continue to see a high demand for some of the bigger games when they play the Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever if they could be played at Capital One Arena, instead of their current location at the Sports and Entertainment Arena in Southeast, and they said it’s something they’re taking a look at.
The Mystics season starts May 14th against the New York Liberty.
Dudley said while the mystics are her favorite team she will definitely buy tickets and support the ladies and other games being played on the west coast since that's where she will be while in school.
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